Nearly one week since the Bronx building collapse, some displaced residents have transitioned from emergency lodging to a city shelter.
Diana Vargas has called the now-collapsed building at 1915 Billingsley Terrace her home for her entire life. The 36-year-old and her family lived on the fifth floor. Their apartment, one of the ones exposed, is now gone.
“We lost everything, out of all the families, we are one of the ones that lost everything,” she said.
What You Need To Know
- Diana Vargas, 36, and her family are now thinking about rebuilding their lives, following their move from a temporary hotel, provided by the Red Cross, to a city shelter
- Vargas said she wants the city to provide mental health support and counseling for her family — and the more than 170 residents displaced
- Vargas' family is considering using the city's help to find low-income housing as a more long-term solution to getting a roof over their heads, instead of staying in the shelter
- An initial investigation by the Department of Buildings found the engineer misdiagnosed a column that was holding up the building as decorative in his June report
Vargas said her family is still traumatized, especially her 23-year-old nephew and sister, who were home at the time of the collapse.
“He’s still shocked that he’s alive, because normally he would be in his room all the time, and that day things went differently for him,” she said.
It was her nephew’s room that collapsed.
Vargas and her family are now thinking about rebuilding their lives. She said she’s grateful for the temporary hotel provided by the Red Cross, and has now moved to a city shelter with her family.
This comes as the investigation into the collapse continues. The Department of Buildings found Friday that an engineer made an error in his June inspection, misdiagnosing a column that was holding up the building, as decorative.
The DOB is now looking into the engineer’s inspections of other buildings in the city and is asking New York state to permanently revoke the engineer’s license.
Meanwhile, Vargas said she wants the city to provide mental health support and counseling for her family—and the more than 170 residents displaced.
“Here [in the shelter], as of last night, it was so hard for me. My sister hasn’t been able to sleep for almost a week now. Everybody in the family is having a hard time sleeping because any little thing we hear, we are jumping,” she said. “This is something we didn’t choose. This is something that just happened to us, and where we’re placed, it’s not the greatest situation.”
Vargas said beyond the shelter, the city is looking into low-income housing for her family, as a more long-term solution.
NY1 reached out to the engineer after his suspension. He has declined our request for comment.